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‘What is the matter with me?’ or a ‘badge of honour’: Nurses’ constructions of resilience during Covid-19.
No full textAbstract It has long been known that nursing work is challenging and has the potential for negative impacts. During the COVID-19 pandemic most nurses’ working landscapes altered dramatically and many faced unprecedented challenges. Resilience is a contested term that has been used with increasing prevalence in healthcare with health professionals encouraging a ‘tool-box’ of stress management techniques and resilience-building skills. Drawing on narrative interview data (n=27) from the Impact of Covid on Nurses (ICON) qualitative study we examine how nurses conceptualised resilience during COVID-19 and the impacts this had on their mental wellbeing. We argue here that it is paramount that nurses are not blamed for experiencing workplace stress when perceived not to be resilient ‘enough’, particularly when expressing what may be deemed to be normal and appropriate reactions given the extreme circumstances and context of the COVID-19 pandemic. </p
The origins and development of statistical approaches in non-parametric frontier models: A survey of the first two decades of scholarly literature (1998-2020)
No full textThis paper surveys the increasing use of statistical approaches in non-parametric efficiency studies. Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) and Free Disposable Hull (FDH) are recognized as standard non-parametric methods developed in the field of operations research. Kneip et al. (1998) and Park et al. (2000) develop statistical properties of the variable returns-to-scale (VRS) version of DEA estimators and FDH estimators, respectively. Simar & Wilson (1998) show that conventional bootstrap methods cannot provide valid inference in the context of DEA or FDH estimators and introduce a smoothed bootstrap for use with DEA or FDH efficiency estimators. By doing so, they address the main drawback of non-parametric models as being deterministic and without a statistical interpretation. Since then, many articles have applied this innovative approach to examine efficiency and productivity in various fields while providing confidence interval estimates to gauge uncertainty. Despite this increasing research attention and significant theoretical and methodological developments in its first two decades, a specific and comprehensive bibliometric analysis of bootstrap DEA/FDH literature and subsequent statistical approaches is still missing. This paper thus, aims to provide an extensive overview of the key articles and their impact in the field. Specifically, in addition to some summary statistics such as citations, the most influential academic journals and authorship network analysis, we review the methodological developments as well as the pertinent software applications.</p
A Network of Change: United Action on Research Integrity
Get PDFThe last decade has seen renewed concern within the scientific community over the reproducibility and transparency of research findings. This paper outlines some of the various responsibilities of stakeholders in addressing the systemic issues that contribute to this concern. In particular, this paper asserts that a united, joined-up approach is needed, in which all stakeholders, including researchers, universities, funders, publishers, and governments, work together to set standards of research integrity and engender scientific progress and innovation. Using two developments as examples: the adoption of Registered Reports as a discrete initiative, and the use of open data as an ongoing norm change, we discuss the importance of collaboration across stakeholders
Modern Indices for International Economic Diplomacy
No full textComposite indices are used by national and international organisations, as well as governments and corporations, to track various performance aspects of a country's economy and its people, evaluate progress, and engage constructively in policy dialogue; and they have long proven useful as communication tools and inputs into decision-making and policymaking. Modern Indices for International Economic Diplomacy compiles a spectrum of relevant indices for development and well-being used in benchmarking across nations, namely the OECD Better Life Index, the Gini Index, the Gender Equality/Inequality Index, the International Energy Security Risk Index, the Big Mac Index, the Country Risk Index, the Corruption Perceptions Index, and the Global Terrorism Index. The book will be relevant to practitioners, policymakers, researchers, and students interested in the topic of international economic relationships.</p
Entrepreneurial responses to uncertainties during the COVID-19 recovery: A longitudinal study of B&Bs in Zhangjiajie, China
Get PDFThe COVID-19 pandemic has brought sweeping changes to global tourism alongside large-scale travel restrictions, posing complex challenges to entrepreneurs and firms seeking to find their footing in a turbulent climate. This study presents a theoretical framework linking uncertainty, capital, and innovation to analyse how bed-and-breakfast small and medium-sized enterprises have innovatively responded to unprecedented obstacles during COVID-19 recovery. Three-stage longitudinal interviews were conducted with more than 30 entrepreneurs between April and November 2020 to unpack their ongoing responses to the pandemic. The recovery process was found to be non-linear due to the shifting nature of sources of uncertainty and changes in entrepreneurs' capital. These alterations shaped interviewees’ responses, especially in terms of product and marketing innovations, which ultimately generated new uncertainty
Safety and Feasibility Assessment of Repetitive Vascular Occlusion Stimulus (RVOS) Application to Multi-Organ Failure Critically Ill Patients: A Pilot Randomised Controlled Trial
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Patterns of Internet Use, and Associations with Loneliness, amongst Middle-Aged and Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic
Get PDFLoneliness among older adults is a major societal problem with consequences for health and wellbeing; this has been exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic. The present study investigated associations between internet use, including frequency and type of use, and loneliness in a large UK sample of middle-aged and older adults, aged 55–75 (n = 3500) from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing (ELSA) cohort study. Our findings indicated a clear relationship between the frequency of internet use and subjective loneliness. Those who used the internet more than once a day reported feeling less lonely than those who used the internet once a week or less. We also found that those who used the internet for e-mail communication were less lonely. However, individuals indicated higher levels of loneliness when the internet was used for information searches about health. Regarding sociodemographic factors underlying internet usage, less frequent use was seen amongst individuals who lived alone, people who were not employed, who had lower education levels, and lower sociodemographic status. Additionally, gender differences were found in the type of internet use: males report using the internet for e-mail communication more than females, while females’ internet use for health-related information searches was higher than in males. In sum, findings suggest that intervention strategies that promote internet access amongst middle-aged and older people could be useful for tackling loneliness and point to the groups within society that should be the focus of such interventions
On the quantification of solid phases in hydrated cement paste by 1H nuclear magnetic resonance relaxometry
Get PDFDifferent solid phases, important to cement paste hydration, are investigated with low-field benchtop 1H nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR). A combination of the well-established quadrature echo pulse sequence with variable pulse gap together with a T1 saturation recovery quadrature echo pulse sequence is used. The results illustrate the diversity in the 1H NMR relaxation behaviour of solid phases that prospects the differentiation in more complex materials. We propose a procedure to obtain quantified values of the solid compounds using these unique relaxation responses of solids, called finger print, and apply this technique to well-hydrated white and ordinary Portland cement paste. Based on the results, needs and ways for future improvements are discussed
Herpes simplex virus 1 expressing GFP-tagged virion host shutoff (vhs) protein uncouples the activities of degradation and nuclear retention of the infected cell transcriptome
Get PDFVirion host shutoff (vhs) protein is an endoribonuclease encoded by herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV1). Vhs causes a number of changes to the infected cell environment that favour translation of late (L) virus proteins: cellular mRNAs are degraded, immediate-early (IE) and early (E) viral transcripts are sequestered in the nucleus with polyA binding protein (PABPC1), and dsRNA is degraded to help dampen the PKR-dependent stress response. To further our understanding of the cell biology of vhs, we constructed a virus expressing vhs tagged at its C-terminus with GFP. When first expressed, vhs-GFP localised to juxtanuclear clusters, and later it colocalised and interacted with its binding partner VP16, and was packaged into virions. Despite vhs-GFP maintaining activity when expressed in isolation, it failed to degrade mRNA or relocalise PABPC1 during infection, while viral transcript levels were similar to those seen for a vhs knockout virus. PKR phosphorylation was also enhanced in vhs-GFP infected cells, in line with a failure to degrade dsRNA. Nonetheless, mRNA FISH revealed that as in Wt but not Δvhs infection, IE and E, but not L transcripts were retained in the nucleus of vhs-GFP infected cells at late times. Moreover, a representative cellular transcript which is ordinarily highly susceptible to vhs degradation, was also retained in the nucleus. These results reveal that the vhs-induced nuclear retention of the infected cell transcriptome is dependent on vhs expression but not on its endoribonuclease activity, uncoupling these two functions of vhs
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